Foot operated electronic musical instrument

ABSTRACT

An electronic foot operated base guitar having a thin transportable housing. Four rows of foot pedals project from the housing top and define nine evenly spaced columns. Each row corresponds to a string of a base guitar and each column corresponds to a fret. A single tone generator in the housing is activated by the highest note played. Rounded, well spaced foot pedals on spring steel mounts permit rapid, discrete foot movements.

United States Patent inventor John Paul Arseneault 25 Seely Drive, Apt.110, Downsview, Ontario, Canada Nov. 15, 1968 June 22, 1971 Appl. No.Filed Patented FOOT OPERATED ELECTRONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT G "25% Te -H;

3,305,620 2/1967 Young 3,433,881 3/1969 Cotton Primary Examiner-D. F.Duggan Assistant Examiner-Stanley J. Witkowski Attorney-Rogers, Bereskin& Parr ABSTRACT: An electronic foot operated base guitar having a thintransportable housing. Four rows of foot pedals project from the housingtop and define nine evenly spaced columns. Each row corresponds to astring of a base guitar and each column corresponds to a fret. A singletone generator in the housing is activated by the highest note played.Rounded, well spaced foot pedals on spring steel mounts permit rapid,discrete foot movements.

e sages 82 A a c c 0 5* 80a 1 ram? 5- 6NERATOR 84 86 {83 6 6* A M ii L gLi IAMPUFIER| I AND I c 6* izouasmame: Q Q 0 0 E F ifip 7 t- 7 as A A ac PATENTED 22 |97l VN mm ON Q JOHN PAUL ARSENEAULT )pyax, f Ebb Om O@ NNA ow 9 w.

:i l ipq AP FLA This invention relates to a foot operated musicalinstrument.

It is common in small musical groups and bands to include a bassguitarist, to provide musical pattern and accompaniment. The requirementfor a separate player merely to play a bass guitar creates considerableexpense. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention toprovide, in one of its aspects, a bass guitar that a player can operateeasilywith his feet while his hands are occupied with anotherinstrument, thereby eliminating the need for a separate player for abass guitar. The instrument provided by the present invention can beconstructed to provide a pattern of notes different in some respectsfrom that provided by a bass guitar, but a bass guitar is considered tobe the main application for the present invention. The invention is alsouseful as a teaching aid in teaching musical fundamentals.

In its broadest aspect the present invention provides a foot operatedmusical instrument comprising:

a. a housing having a lower portion adapted to be supported on a floor,said housing having an upper surface,

b. foot pedals projecting from said upper surface, said foot pedalsbeing arranged in a plurality of parallel rows, the pedals in said rowsdefining a plurality of columns extending at right angles to said rows,the spacing between adjacent rows being equal and the spacing betweenadjacent columns being equal,

c. means yieldably mounting each foot pedal for depression of such footpedal, including means biasing each foot pedal to an uppermost position,

d. a plurality of sets of electrical contacts in said housing, one setassociated with each foot pedal and each set operable on depression ofits associated foot pedal,

e. a plurality of circuit means in said housing, one circuit meansassociated with each set of contacts and being operable upon operationof its associated set of contacts, each said circuit means being adaptedto cooperate with sound producing means to produce amusical note ofnature dependent upon the parameters of such circuit means,

f. the parameters of said circuit means being such that the notesproduced by said sound producing means upon operation of successive footpedals in a given row are successive notes of a chromatic scale, and thenotes produced by said sound producing means upon operation ofsuccessive foot pedals in a given column are successive musical fourthsone above the other.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. I is a perspective view of an instrument according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing for one foot pedal the manner inwhich the foot pedals of the FIG. 1 instrument are mounted;

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the FIG. 1 instrument;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a main support plate of the FIG. 1 instrument,with the foot pedals shown in dotted lines; and

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram for the FIG. 1 instrument.

Reference is first made to FIG. 1, in which a musical instrumentaccording to the invention is shown generally at 2. As shown, theinstrument includes a thin, rectangular transportable housing 4 having asloping upper surface 6 from which project a number of foot pedals 8.The pedals 8 are arranged in four rows 10, 12, I4 and 16, each rowcontaining nine pedals which define nine columns 18 to 34. The columnsextend at right angles to the rows. The spacing between adjacent pedalsin each row is equal, and the spacing between adjacent pedals ineach-column is equal.

Reference is next made to FIGS. 2 and 3, which illustrate details of themechanical construction of the instrument. As shown in FIG. 3, thehousing 4 includes a low front wall 36, a higher backwall 38, a pair ofsidewalls 40 (FIG. 1), and a flat bottom plate 42 covering the bottom ofthe instrument. The

members 36 to 42 may typically be made" from plywood. A cover plate 44covers the top of the instrument and contains rectangular holes 46 forthe foot pedals 8. The cover plate 44 may be covered with a decorativematerial such as a viriyl plastic to produce an attractive upper surface6.

The foot pedals 8 are mounted on a main support plate 48 spaced from andextending parallel to tlie upper plate 44. Specifically, the mainsupport plate 48 supports four elon-' gated wooden strips 50, one foreach row of pedals. A number of spaced strips of spring metal 52, onefor each pedal, are fastened to the woden strips 50 by screws 54. Thepedals are mounted on the spring metal strips 52 by screws 56 which holdthe spring strips 52 to the flat undersides of the pedals. It will benoted that each spring strip 52 extends both forwardly and rearwardly ofits pedal.

The spring metal strips 52 are noriiially straight and hold the pedals 8in the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. When a pedal 8 is depressed, itsspring strip 52 is forced into a curved configuration. When the pedal isreleased, the spring strip 52 then returns the pedal to the positionshown in FIG. 3. The pedal will normally be pressed at its highest point58, which is spaced well forwardly of the screws 56. Because of thisspacing, and because the screws 56 are also spaced well forwardly of thescrews 54, the spring steel strips 52 curve gently, rather than sharply,when the pedals are depressed. This reduces stresses in the springstrips 52' arid improves their performance.

To limit downward motion of the pedals 8 and to avoid damage to thespring rn'etal strips 52, smaller wooden stop strips 60 extend along themain support plate 48 at the front ends of the pedals. The stop strips'60 are surfaced with sponge rubber (such as weather stripping) orsimilar sound absorbent material 62 to deaden noise-when the front endsof the spring strips 52 contact the stop strips 60.

In order to limit upward movement of the pedals, the portions of thespring strips 52 which project forwardly of the pedals 8 (suchprojecting portions are indicated at 64 in FIG. 3) extend underneath thecover plate 44. As shown in FIG. 2,

sponge rubber or similar resilient material 66 is provided on pedal. Theother contact of the set of contacts is formed by an L-sh'aped wire 74projecting from the wooden contact strips 72. When a foot pedal 8 isdepressed, its spring 70 moves downwardly to touch its wire 74 to closethe contacts. The dowel 68 is accommodated in a hole 76 in the supportplate 48 at this time. The electrical contacts are provided so that whena foot pedal is depressed, it will cause production of a particularmusical note, as will now be described.

The various notes produced by the pedals of the instrument beingdescribed are shown in FIG. 4. It will be seen that in each row, thesuccessive notes are those of a chromatic scale, while in each column,each note (from front to rear) is a musical fourth above the precedingnote. This is the tuning of a bass guitar, i.e. the respective rowscorrespond to respective strings of a bass guitar and the respectivecolumns correspond to respective frets of the guitar. However, unlikethe frets of a bass guitar, the columns 18 to 34 are evenly spaced. Thisresults in much greater ease of play, because musical patterns (i.e.progressions or sequences of notes) can be played in any key with nochange in the geometric movements required by a players foot. Forexample, the sequence C (fourth note in Row 12), F (fourth note in Row14), G (sixth note in Row 14),

the direction or size of movements required by a player's foot. Thisapplies to any progressions, whether two notes or 30 notes. For example,to move up an octave from any note, one simply moves upwardly threepedals in a column and then to the right by two pedals. The samedistance is required in all The manner in which musical notes aregenerated by the instrument will next be described, with reference tothe circuit diagram of FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5 (and also in FIG. 4),the circuit contains a number of potentiometers 80, one for eachseparate note to be produced by the instrument. It will be noted inconnection with FIG. 4 that the last four notes of the first three rowsare identical with the first four notes of the last three rows, so'thatseparate potentiometers are not required for the foot pedals associatedwith the last four notes of the first three rows.

The potentiometers 80 are all connected in series, with one end of theseries connection being connected to a tone generator 82 connected tothe support plate 42 of the instrument (see FIG. 3). The tone generatoris energized through a conventional IIO-volt power cord 83. Each springcontact 70 from the foot pedals is connected to the potentiometerrepresenting the note that the contact is intended to initiate.Specifically, each contact is connected to the side of its potentiometerremote from tone generator 82. The other sides of the sets of contactsfor the foot pedals, i.e. the wires 74, are connected to a common groundby a bus bar, not physically shown but schematically indicated at 84.The bus bar is in turn connected to the tone generator 82.

The tone generator 82 includes a power supply (not shown), an oscillator(not shown) the frequency of which depends on the resistance connectedthereto, and conventional amplifying and waveforming circuits. Thefrequency of tones produced by the tone generator depends upon the valueof the resistance switched in by the contacts of the foot pedals. Forexample, the contacts of the last foot pedal of row 16 switch in onlyone potentiometer 800; the contacts of the second last foot pedal of rowl6switch in two potentiometers 80a, 80b in series, while the first footpedal of row 10 switches in all of the potentiometers in series. Thevalues of the potentiometers are chosen so that the tone generator 82will produce the notes shown in FIG. 4 when the respective foot pedalsare depressed. The waveforming circuits are made such that the qualityof each note-is that of a plucked string of a bass guitar in the equaltemperament tuning system. If desired, a taper circuit can be includedin the sound producing means so that each note sounded dies away eventhough the foot pedal that initiated the note remains depressed. Theoutput of the tone generator 82 is connected to a socket 86 which may beconnected to any external amplifier and speaker 88. The tone generator82, and amplifier and speaker 88, together comprise sound producingmeans.

It will be noted that only one foot pedal at a time can be used. if twofoot pedals are depressed at the same time, only thatassociated with thehigher note will be operative. However, if two foot pedals are depressedat the same time and then the higher note foot pedal is released, thenote associated with the lower note foot pedal will immediately sound.This makes possible extremely fast playing of the instrument. So that aplayer mayslide his feet over the various notes rapidly, the topsurface. of each pedal meets the side surfaces of the pedal in roundededges 90 that will not catch a players feet.

The dimensions for a typical bass guitar instrument produced accordingto the invention are given in Table 1 below.

TABLE I DIMENSION SIZE (inches) a-(length of main support plate 48) 30b-(width of main support plate 48) 16% c (length ofhousing 4)v 3 l /2d-(width of housing 4) l8 e-(height of housing front wall 36) l /z f(height of housing rear wall 38) 4V2 g-(lateral spacing between adjacentfoot pedals) 2 h-(front to rear spacing between adjacent foot 1 pedals)i-(front to rear spacing between high points of 4 adjacent foot pedals)5 j-(width of each foot pedal) 1% k-(length of each foot pedal) 3m-(spacing between high point of pedal and 2 /4 forward screw 54)n-(spacing between rear screw 56 and 2 /2 forward screw 54) o-(length ofspring metal strips 52) 3 /16 p-(width of spring metal strips 52) lq-(width of wooden strips 50) /4 r-(width of wooden stop and contactstrips 60, 72) /4 The main plate 48 (FIG. 3) will normally be held inposition in the housing by screws, not shown, and will normally bebraced by a further support plate 89.

The housing will conveniently be provided with a cover 91 shown indotted lines in FIG. 2. The cover will normally be hinged at the back bydetachable hinges 92 and will be detachably connected to the front ofthe housing by a catch 94. In this way, the entire instrument mayconveniently carried by a handle 96 attached to the cover, and ifdesired, the cover can be taken ofi" and placed beneath the instrumentas shown in chain dotted lines at 98 to increase the slope of thepedals. It will be noted that the portions of the hinges 92 and thecatch 94 mounted on the cover 91 are positioned above the bottom edge ofthe cover, so that they will be out of the way when the cover is placedon the floor.

It will be apparent that various changes can be made in the invention asdescribed while still retaining the features of an easily portable footoperated instrument having a note layout that makes possible playing ofequivalent patterns on different keys with exactly the same geometricmovements. For example, the notes in the columns may be made those of achromatic scale, and the notes in the rows may be made successivemusical fourths, one above the other. The direction of progressiontowards higher frequencies can also be changed. For this reason, theterms column and row as here used are interchangeable, in that the rows10 to 16 may be considered to be columns and the columns 18 to 34 may beconsidered to be rows. The slope of the front face of the instrumentwill of course depend upon which side of the instrument a player is toface, since the slope should be upwardly away from his feet tofacilitate his feet reaching the various pedals. The important featureis that the notes of either the rows or the columns should be those of achromatic scale, and the notes at right angles to those representingchromatic scales should be musical fourths above (or below) the other.This arrangement permits playing progressions in various keys withoutchanging the direction or size of the movements between notes requiredfor the progression. In addition, further rows or columns can be added(provided that they have the relationship to the other rows or columnsdescribed) to provide further effect.

The particular type of contact set described for the foot pedals isconvenient because the contacts close part way through the downwardtravel of a foot pedal, and yet further downward travel of the pedal ispermitted, so that the amount of downward movement required for eachfoot pedal is not critical. However, other types of contacts can beused. For example, each dowel 68. can be shortened and a contact buttonplaced on its bottom, to contact a strip of spring metal extending fullyin the air below thedowel from the wooden contact strip 72.Alternatively, contact buttons can be stamped from spring strips 52 andbent downwardly to contact the strips of spring metal mentioned.

The spring strip structure shown for mounting the foot pedals is notabsolutely essential, but is greatly preferred because it provides anextremely simple and highly durable mounting with convenient stops tolimit both upward and downward travel of the pedal. In addition, eachpedal rotates slightly when it is depressed to align its top surfacesmore naturally with the bottom of a players's foot,- facilitatingplaying of the instrument.

Although the circuit for the instrument has been shown as such that onlyone note at a time can be played, a separate tone generator can beprovided for each pedal so that more than one pedal can be depressed ata time. However, this would cause difficulty in tuning the instrumentsince the electrical parameters of the various tone generators tend todrift separately with changes in age and temperature. With thearrangement shown, in which all the potentiometers are connected inseries, tuning the instrument is much simplified. Moreover, when onlyone note sounds at a time, the instrument becomes much easier and fasterto play, because more than one pedal can be depressed at a time withassurance that only the higher note pedal will produce a sound, and whenthe higher note pedal is released, the lower note pedal will immediatelyinitiate a note.

If desired, two tone generators can be provided, one to providesustained tones and the other to provide tapering tones which die awaywith time. Both tone generators would operate upon depression of asingle foot pedal, and again, only one foot pedal would be operative ata time.

In addition, if desired a ganged rotary switch can be provided to switchall the foot pedal contacts from one potentiometer to another, to shiftthe tuning of the instrument up or down one or more half tones, or toswitch the tuning to interchange the columns and rows.

In order that the instrument may be readily portable, and so that itspedals can be conveniently reached by a player's feet, its longdimension should not exceed about 2 feet. The instrument can becondensed substantially, particularly if fewer rows and columns areprovided, but the lateral spacings between the high points of pedals ina front to rear direction should not be substantially less than 2 inches(in the embodiment shown, the spacing is 4 inches), and the lateralspacings between the high points of the adjacent pedals in aside-to-side direction should also not be substantially less than about2 inches. (In the embodiment shown, the side-to-side spacing between thecenters of the high points of adjacent pedals is, from table 1, H6inches plus 2 inches, i.e. 3% inches. It will be noted that this is verynearly equal to the front to rear spacing of 4 inches between the highpoints of adjacent pedals.) The width of the pedals themselves shouldnot be less than about an inch. The presence of the tone generator 82 inthe instrument improves its portability and versatility because of theease with which the instrument can be plugged into most standardamplifier and speaker systems.

Because of its simple pedal layout and ease of use, the instrument isparticularly useful for teaching transposition of chording andprogressions from one key to another.

I claim:

1. A foot operated musical instrument comprising:

a. a rectangular transportable housing having lateral dimensions notexceeding substantially 2 feet by 3 feet, said housing having a pair ofopposed longer sides and a pair of opposed shorter sides, a flat lowersupporting surface, and a flat upper surface sloping upwardly from oneof said longer sides to the other of said longer sides, said housingthereby having a lower side and an upper side,

b. foot pedals projecting from said upper surface, said foot pedalsbeing elongated in a front to rear direction and being arranged in fourparallel rows, the pedals in said rows defining a plurality of columnsextending at right angles to said rows, each pedal having an upperoperating area adapted to be contacted by a players foot, the centers ofthe operating areas of adjacent pedals in the same column being spacedapart by a first distance, the centers of the operating areas ofadjacent pedals in the same row being spaced apart by a second distance,said second distance being approximately the same as said firstdistance, I

c. means yieldably mounting each foot pedal for depression of such footpedal, including means biasing each foot pedal to an uppermost position,and comprising:

l. a flat strip of spring metal beneath said foot pedal-and havingforward and rearward projections extending respectively forwardly andrearwardly of said foot pedal,

2. first fastening means fastening said strip to the underside of saidpedal,

3. second fastening means fastening said rearward projection to saidhousing, said first and second fastening means being spacedsubstantially apart and said pedal being shaped so that said operatingarea thereon is spaced substantially from said second fastening means,so that when said pedal is depressed, said strip will curve to allow arolling pedal motion and when said pedal is released, said strip willreturn said pedal to its uppermost portion,

4. and a stop mounted on said housing and extending over said forwardprojection of said strip, to limit upward motion of said pedal,

. a plurality of sets of electrical contacts in said housing, one setassociated with each foot pedal and each set operable on depression ofits associated foot pedal, each set of contacts having first and secondcontact surfaces, and means mounting said contact surfaces so that onesuch surface will wipingly engage the other when its associated pedal isdepressed,

e. a plurality of circuit means in said housing, one circuit meansassociated witheach set of contacts and being operable upon operation ofits associated set of contacts, each said circuit means being adapted tocooperate with sound producing means to produce a musical note of naturedependent upon the parameters of such circuit means, 4

f. the parameters of said circuit means being such that the notesproduced by said sound producing means upon operation of successive footpedals in a given row are successive notes of a chromatic scale, and thenotes produced by said sound producing means upon operation ofsuccessive foot pedals in a given column are successive musical fourthsone above the other,

g. the notes of said first column being, from the low side of saidhousing to the high side of said housing, E, A, D and G.

2. An instrument according to claim 1 wherein the notes associated withthe foot pedals in the row adjacent said lower side are E, F, F-sharp,G, G-sharp, A, A-sharp, B, and C, progressing from left to right with aplayer facing said lower side.

3. An instrument according to claim 1 including means interconnectingeach set of contacts one with the other for operation of a set ofcontacts associated with a foot pedal representing one note to disableoperation of the circuit means of all the sets of contacts associatedwith foot pedals representing lower notes.

4. A foot operated musical instrument comprising:

a. a rectangular transportable housing having lateral dimensions notexceeding substantially 2 feet by 3 feet, said housing having a pair ofopposed longer sides and a pair of opposed shorter sides, a flat lowersupporting surface, and a flat upper surface sloping upwardly from oneof said longer sides to the other of said longer sides, said housingthereby having a lower side and an upper side,

b. foot pedals projecting from said upper surface, said foot pedalsbeing arranged in four parallel rows, the pedals in said rows defining aplurality of columns extending at right angles to said rows, each pedalhaving an upper operating area adapted to be contacted by a playersfoot, the centers of the operating areas of adjacent pedals in the samecolumn rows being spaced apart by a first distance, the centers of theoperating areas of adjacent pedals in the same row being spaced apart bya second distance, said second distance being approximately the same assaid first distance,

means yieldably mounting each foot pedal for depression of such footpedal, including means biasing each foot pedal to an uppermost position,

. a plurality of sets of electrical contacts in said housing,

one set associated with each foot pedal and each set operable ondepression of its associated foot pedal,

. a plurality of circuit means in said housing, one circuit meansassociated with each set of contacts and being operable upon operationof its associated set of contacts, each said circuit means being adaptedto cooperate with sound producing means to produce a musical note ofnature dependent upon the parameters of such circuit means,

the parameters of said circuit means being such that the notes producedby said sound producing means upon operation of successive foot pedalsin a given row are successive notes of a chromatic scale, and the notesproduced by said sound producing means upon operation of successive footpedals in a given column are successive musical fourths one above theother,

the notes of said first column being, from the low side of said housingto the high side of said housing, E, A, D and said instrument includinga cover for said housing, said cover being rectangular and having a pairof opposed longer sides, a pair of opposed shorter sides, and a flat topsurface, the height of said cover being substantially less at one of itslonger sides than at the other of its longer sides so that when saidcover is positioned on said housing, the combined height of said coverand said housing isthe same at each of said longer sides, andcooperating connecting means on said cover and on said housing fordetachably connecting said cover to said housing, said connecting meanson said cover being located above the bottom edge of said cover so thatsaid cover can be removed from said housing and positioned on a floorwith its bottom edge resting on said floor, and said housing can bepositioned on said cover with the lower side of said housing resting onthe lower side of said cover, thereby increasing the slope of the uppersurface of said housing.

5. An instrument according to claim 4 wherein said means (0) comprisesfor each foot pedal:

1. a flat strip of spring metal beneath said foot pedal and havingforward and rearward projections extending respectively forwardly andrearward ly of said foot pedal,

2. first fastening means fastening said strip to the underside of saidpedal,

3. second fastening means fastening said rearward projection to saidhousing, said first and second fastening means being spacedsubstantially apart and said pedal being shaped so that the highestpoint thereon is spaced substantially from said second fastening means,so that when said pedal is depressed, said strip will curve to allowpedal motion and when said pedal is released, said strip will returnsaid pedal to its uppermost position,

. and a stop mounted on said housing and extending over said forwardprojection of said strip, to limit upward motion of said pedal.

6. An instrument according to claim 4 wherein the notes associated withthe foot pedals in the row adjacent said lower side of said housing areE, F, F-sharp, G, G-sharp, A, A-sharp, B and C, progressing from left toright with the player facing said lower side.

7. An instrument according to claim 4 including means interconnectingeach of said contacts one with the other for operation of a set ofcontacts associated with a foot pedal representing one note to disableoperation of the circuit means of all the sets of contacts associatedwith the foot pedals representing lower notes.

1. A foot operated musical instrument comprising: a. a rectangulartransportable housing having lateral dimensions not exceedingsubstantially 2 feet by 3 feet, said housing having a pair of opposedlonger sides and a pair of opposed shorter sides, a flat lowersupporting surface, and a flat upper surface sloping upwardly from oneof said longer sides to the other of said longer sides, said housingthereby having a lower side and an upper side, b. foot pedals projectingfrom said upper surface, said foot pedals being elongated in a fRont torear direction and being arranged in four parallel rows, the pedals insaid rows defining a plurality of columns extending at right angles tosaid rows, each pedal having an upper operating area adapted to becontacted by a player''s foot, the centers of the operating areas ofadjacent pedals in the same column being spaced apart by a firstdistance, the centers of the operating areas of adjacent pedals in thesame row being spaced apart by a second distance, said second distancebeing approximately the same as said first distance, c. means yieldablymounting each foot pedal for depression of such foot pedal, includingmeans biasing each foot pedal to an uppermost position, andcomprising:
 1. a flat strip of spring metal beneath said foot pedal andhaving forward and rearward projections extending respectively forwardlyand rearwardly of said foot pedal,
 2. first fastening means fasteningsaid strip to the underside of said pedal,
 3. second fastening meansfastening said rearward projection to said housing, said first andsecond fastening means being spaced substantially apart and said pedalbeing shaped so that said operating area thereon is spaced substantiallyfrom said second fastening means, so that when said pedal is depressed,said strip will curve to allow a rolling pedal motion and when saidpedal is released, said strip will return said pedal to its uppermostportion,
 4. and a stop mounted on said housing and extending over saidforward projection of said strip, to limit upward motion of said pedal,d. a plurality of sets of electrical contacts in said housing, one setassociated with each foot pedal and each set operable on depression ofits associated foot pedal, each set of contacts having first and secondcontact surfaces, and means mounting said contact surfaces so that onesuch surface will wipingly engage the other when its associated pedal isdepressed, e. a plurality of circuit means in said housing, one circuitmeans associated with each set of contacts and being operable uponoperation of its associated set of contacts, each said circuit meansbeing adapted to cooperate with sound producing means to produce amusical note of nature dependent upon the parameters of such circuitmeans, f. the parameters of said circuit means being such that the notesproduced by said sound producing means upon operation of successive footpedals in a given row are successive notes of a chromatic scale, and thenotes produced by said sound producing means upon operation ofsuccessive foot pedals in a given column are successive musical fourthsone above the other, g. the notes of said first column being, from thelow side of said housing to the high side of said housing, E, A, D andG.
 2. An instrument according to claim 1 wherein the notes associatedwith the foot pedals in the row adjacent said lower side are E, F,F-sharp, G, G-sharp, A, A-sharp, B, and C, progressing from left toright with a player facing said lower side.
 2. first fastening meansfastening said strip to the underside of said pedal,
 2. first fasteningmeans fastening said strip to the underside of said pedal,
 3. secondfastening means fastening said rearward projection to said housing, saidfirst and second fastening means being spaced substantially apart andsaid pedal being shaped so that the highest point thereon is spacedsubstantially from said second fastening means, so that when said pedalis depressed, said strip will curve to allow pedal motion and when saidpedal is released, said strip will return said pedal to its uppermostposition,
 3. An instrument according to claim 1 including meansinterconnecting each set of contacts one with the other for operation ofa set of contacts associated with a foot pedal representing one note todisable operation of the circuit means of all the sets of contactsassociated with foot pedals representing lower notes.
 3. secondfastening means fastening said rearward projection to said housing, saidfirst and second fastening means being spaced substantially apart andsaid pedal being shaped so that said operating area thereon is spacedsubstantially from said second fastening means, so that when said pedalis depressed, said strip will curve to allow a rolling pedal motion andwhen said pedal is released, said strip will return said pedal to itsuppermost portion,
 4. and a stop mounted on said housing and extendingover said forward projection of said strip, to limit upward motion ofsaid pedal, d. a plurality of sets of electrical contacts in saidhousing, one set associated with each foot pedal and each set operableon depression of its associated foot pedal, each set of contacts havingfirst and second contact surfaces, and means mounting said contactsurfaces so that one such surface will wipingly engage the other whenits associated pedal is depressed, e. a plurality of circuit means insaid housing, one circuit means associated with each set of contacts andbeing operable upon operation of its associated set of contacts, eachsaid circuit means being adapted to cooperate with sound producing meansto produce a musical note of nature dependent upon the parameters ofsuch circuit means, f. the parameters of said circuit means being suchthat the notes produced by said sound producing means upon operation ofsuccessive foot pedals in a given row are successive notes of achromatic scale, and the notes produced by said sound producing meansupon operation of successive foot pedals in a given column aresuccessive musical fourths one above the other, g. the notes of saidfirst column being, from the low side of said housing to the high sideof said housing, E, A, D and G.
 4. A foot operated musical instrumentcomprising: a. a rectangular transportable housing having lateraldimensions not exceeding substantially 2 feet by 3 feet, said housinghaving a pair of opposed longer sides and a pair of opposed shortersides, a flat lower supporting surface, and a flat upper surface slopingupwardly from one of said longer sides to the other of said longersides, said housing thereby having a lower side and an upper side, b.foot pedals projecting from said upper surface, said foot pedals beingarranged in four parallel rows, the pedals in said rows defining aplurality of columns extendinG at right angles to said rows, each pedalhaving an upper operating area adapted to be contacted by a playersfoot, the centers of the operating areas of adjacent pedals in the samecolumn rows being spaced apart by a first distance, the centers of theoperating areas of adjacent pedals in the same row being spaced apart bya second distance, said second distance being approximately the same assaid first distance, c. means yieldably mounting each foot pedal fordepression of such foot pedal, including means biasing each foot pedalto an uppermost position, d. a plurality of sets of electrical contactsin said housing, one set associated with each foot pedal and each setoperable on depression of its associated foot pedal, e. a plurality ofcircuit means in said housing, one circuit means associated with eachset of contacts and being operable upon operation of its associated setof contacts, each said circuit means being adapted to cooperate withsound producing means to produce a musical note of nature dependent uponthe parameters of such circuit means, f. the parameters of said circuitmeans being such that the notes produced by said sound producing meansupon operation of successive foot pedals in a given row are successivenotes of a chromatic scale, and the notes produced by said soundproducing means upon operation of successive foot pedals in a givencolumn are successive musical fourths one above the other, g. the notesof said first column being, from the low side of said housing to thehigh side of said housing, E, A, D and G, h. said instrument including acover for said housing, said cover being rectangular and having a pairof opposed longer sides, a pair of opposed shorter sides, and a flat topsurface, the height of said cover being substantially less at one of itslonger sides than at the other of its longer sides so that when saidcover is positioned on said housing, the combined height of said coverand said housing is the same at each of said longer sides, andcooperating connecting means on said cover and on said housing fordetachably connecting said cover to said housing, said connecting meanson said cover being located above the bottom edge of said cover so thatsaid cover can be removed from said housing and positioned on a floorwith its bottom edge resting on said floor, and said housing can bepositioned on said cover with the lower side of said housing resting onthe lower side of said cover, thereby increasing the slope of the uppersurface of said housing.
 4. and a stop mounted on said housing andextending over said forward projection of said strip, to limit upwardmotion of said pedal.
 5. An instrument according to claim 4 wherein saidmeans (c) comprises for each foot pedal:
 6. An instrument according toclaim 4 wherein the notes associated with the foot pedals in the rowadjacent said lower side of said housing are E, F, F-sharp, G, G-sharp,A, A-sharp, B and C, progressing from left to right with the playerfacing said lower side.
 7. An instrument according to claim 4 includingmeans interconnecting each of said contacts one with the other foroperation of a set of contacts associated with a foot pedal representingone note to disable operation of the circuit meanS of all the sets ofcontacts associated with the foot pedals representing lower notes.